Microsoft confirms new Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family plan and its pricing

The service will cost around €21.99 a month. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

After a leak revealed Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family branding over the weekend, Microsoft has gone official with its new plan and revealed its pricing in Ireland and Colombia. The new subscription will allow Xbox Game Pass members to share with up to four other friends or family members at €21.99 per month in Ireland, and 49,900 COP in Colombia.

Microsoft isn’t restricting this new Game Pass plan to just family members, and the only restriction is that people who are added to the Friends & Family plan need to be in the same country. Microsoft is currently testing this new Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family plan in Ireland and Colombia, with pricing at €21.99 per month instead of the regular €12.99 per month for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. That works out to less than €5 per month per person to share all the usual Xbox Game Pass Ultimate benefits.

Image: Microsoft
The new Friends & Family subscription is official now.

“Currently we are piloting this plan in Colombia and the Republic of Ireland. Future countries / regions might be added in the next months,” says Microsoft in a FAQ. Microsoft hasn’t announced pricing for the rest of Europe, the UK, or the US yet, but it’s likely to be around $25 per month for Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family in the US.

Switching to the plan does mean adjusting the time remaining on your previous plan, and Microsoft will perform a conversion to the Friends & Family plan:

30 days Xbox Game Pass Ultimate = 18 days Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family
30 days Xbox Game Pass (Console) = 12 days Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family
30 days PC Game Pass = 12 days Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family
30 days Xbox Live Gold = 12 days Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family
30 days EA Play = 6 days Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family

Microsoft currently offers Xbox Game Pass or PC Game Pass for $9.99 per month. Neither subscription includes online multiplayer capabilities, but you can upgrade to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $14.99 and this unlocks Game Pass for console, PC, EA Play access, and Xbox Live Gold online multiplayer.

Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family will include all the same Xbox Game Pass Ultimate benefits for four other friends or family members. That’s five people in total, and it also includes access to Xbox Cloud Gaming, Xbox Live, and even the PC Game Pass versions of games.